‘The Art of ReCore:’ Advance Hardcover Review

Dark Horse Books presents a brilliant guide into the world of the newly released video game, ReCore. As seen in the launch trailer, The Art of ReCore hardcover (HC) edition is stunningly beautiful. It perfectly encapsulates the adventure following Joule Adams, lead character in this science fiction struggle for humanity’s survival.

Adams finds herself alone on a distant planet, Far Eden, after journeying from a plague-ridden Earth that has no hope of sustaining life. The plan involves terraforming Far Eden over the course of two hundred years, but the desert planet doesn’t transform at all. If possible, this supposed sanctuary seems as desolate and hopeless as the Earth she left behind.

Corebots had been tasked with turning Far Eden into a vibrant, green planet, but one of those bots, Victor, corrupted the system with dark energy. His control of other Corebots, as well as other places, is highlighted by long, black spikes protruding from whatever has succumbed to Victor’s corruption. Joule does not allow these dangers, or the vicious sandstorms that ravage this world, to deter her mission of making this new place humankind’s salvation.

The Art of ReCore showcases the game by focusing on four key elements: characters, technology, environments, and storyboards. These sections provide a synopsis of each element, detailing the creator's thought process, while seemingly endless amounts of artwork fill the surrounding pages. The reader gets a superb look into the visual transformations each component went through before finalizing them into this epic adventure.

The art is cleverly crafted; many vivid colors and thoughtful designs are created with descriptions stating why ideas make it to Xbox One and Windows 10 or have been left on the drawing board. A wonderful example of this process can be seen with the creation of the main character - from an anime-like beginning, with a style resembling Mega Man, to her final construction, which includes tech that accentuates some of Adams’ strengths, determination, and toughness.

These artistic renderings presented their own challenges to the fact that such intricate details had to transfer to every angle within the game. This precise level of attention is evident through 120 pages of this all-encompassing guide, whether it is an extreme close up of technology and the connecting bolts holding it together or damages to tech armor possibly foretelling the dangers of the sand-covered world.

If there is signal sent to your brain to purchase an Xbox One after watching the trailer or seeing someone else play the game, then this fantastic book creates the signal that gets sent to your heart. Not only does the artwork seem lifelike, the story behind the pictures tells the reader how important every aspect is to realizing such a creative end result. If you need another significant reason to buy this hardcover volume, the action-adventure game comes from the makers of Metroid Prime and legendary designer Keiji Inafune who crafted Mega Man and other well-known entities.

The Art of ReCore will be released today and is available for pre-order.